Nigerian Defence Policy

This Reader provides a structurally coherent explanation and review of the magnified role conception and organizational task expansion for the Nigerian military establishment in foreign policy. It argues essentially that one of the most problematic and intractable areas of public policy in Nigeria since the Civil War concerns the development of a professional defence establishment adequate to meet the challenges arising from the altered parameters of iour security environment. The correction of this condition is the primary motivation of the Armed Forces modernization and augmentation program that touches upon all elements of Nigeria's military power. This Reader is at once a review and a critique of the major facets of this modernization and augmentation process of the Nigerian armed forces within the operative context of the changing dimension of threat perception and the strategic parameters that have guided Nigerian military planning since the Civil War in 1970.

Defence and national security in Africa are relatively neglected areas of study, especially by Nigerian scholars, although research in these areas appears to be on the increase in some Nigerian universities. This study aims to make available the analytical tools and necessary criteria to enable reliable judgements about the state of the country's security and to identify the weaknesses. The book is organised into four main sections: internal security linkages, external linkages, the enforcement linkages and the defence component.

This work attempts to assess corruption risks in five key areas of Nigerias defence and security establishments, namely political, financial, personnel, operations, and procurement. Using a simple and straightforward question-and-answer format, the assessment draws from interviews with key players in the industry as well as from secondary sources. The scope of the work includes the last few years of President Goodluck Jonathans administration and the threshold of the administration of President Muhammadu Buharia truly epochal period in the history of Nigerias fight against corruption, but also reflects policy gaps inherent in the transition in government. The work contributes to an area of literature which is both scanty and characterized by much secrecy. It is hoped therefore that this contribution will not only stimulate more frank and open discussion on the subject of corruption risks in Nigerias defence and security sector, but would also act as both a template and benchmark on which policy makers can embark on genuine and meaningful reforms.

Many efforts have been undertaken to address dysfunctional security sector governance in West Africa. However, security sector reform (SSR) has fallen short of radical – transformational – change to the fundamental structures of power and governance in the region. Looking more closely at specific examples of SSR in six West African countries, Learning from West African Experiences in Security Sector Governance explores both progress and reversals in efforts by national stakeholders and their international partners to positively influence security sector governance dynamics. Written by eminent national experts based on their personal experiences of these reform contexts, this study offers new insights and practical lessons that should inform processes to improve democratic security sector governance in West Africa and beyond.